REINACH – Archroma has partnered with US-based CleanKore to improve the environmental credentials of denim through a new yarn dyeing process that claims to give jeans bright white abrasion effects without the need for hazardous potassium permanganate sprays.
The new indigo ring-dyeing process works by altering the oxidation/immersion ratio of dyed yarns, coupled with tweaking processing speeds, to inhibit indigo dye penetration from the surface to the inside of the yarn. This then gives a circular bright white cotton – or blended fibre – core of the yarn, with only a shallow ring of indigo dye on its surface.
This process is said to facilitate a much easier and faster garment wash down and gives subsequent savings in both water and energy use, while also retaining ‘good fastness properties.’
Denim mill partners using the new system already include Arvind in India, Atlantic Mills in Thailand and US-based Mount Vernon.
